Amazon claims it has achieved its goal of covering 100% of its energy consumption with renewable energy sources.
The milestone, reached in 2023, was achieved seven years ahead of the company’s 2030 target. It covers all of the company’s global operations, including corporate buildings, supermarkets and distribution centers.
Surprisingly, the company managed to achieve its goal despite a significant increase in global demand for data centers due to its publicly available generative AI tools.
Amazon runs on 100% renewable electricity
For four years in a row, starting in 2019, Amazon was recognized as the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, helping it reach its goal ahead of schedule. The company has invested billions in more than 500 solar and wind projects worldwide, generating enough energy to power about 7.6 million U.S. homes annually.
This includes 1.7 GW of offshore wind power, which Amazon says makes it “the world’s largest corporate buyer of offshore wind power.”
Kara Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amazon comment given: “Reaching our renewable energy target is an incredible achievement, and we are proud of the work we have done to get here, seven years early.”
However, Hurst noted that the work is not yet done, given the growing demand for energy and increasing consumption, particularly to fuel its data centers: “We also know that this is just a snapshot and that our work to decarbonize our operations will not be the same every year. We will continue to make progress as we continue to evolve on our path to 2040.”
Amazon says it remains committed to meeting its Climate Pledge goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. But technological advances in recent years could add pressure.
As part of its ongoing work, Amazon has also committed to helping modernize the country’s electricity grid and energy delivery systems, including some of the 50 million miles of networks the International Energy Agency says will need to be modernized by 2040.
